July 19: There is high possibility of wasting large amount of electricity produced during the rainy season. Such a risk has increased after the Indian government did not approve the proposal made by Nepal for the export of more electricity.

The Nepal Electricity Authority had proposed to India to purchase electricity for a project with a capacity of 1,047 megawatts. However, India has approved NEA to sell only  452 megawatts of electricity in the Indian market.

India has also put on hold the proposal of importing electricity from 442 MW of Upper Tamakoshi, 29 MWof Chamelia and 43 MW of Upper Bhotekoshi for a long time.

Ganesh Karki, chairman of the Independent Power Producers' Association of Nepal (IPPAN), said that India has expressed doubts about the domestic investment projects and is asking for investor-related details. According to him, the company's details are being requested from India while the southern neighbor is yet to give export permission from Nepal.

Karki said that due to this, the danger of wasting large amounts of produced electricity has increased and energy investment is at risk.

Although Nepal Electricity Authority proposed to sell 1047 MW of electricity, India is willing to buy only 452 MW of electricity.

He complained that the high-ranking officials of Nepal have not taken any initiative to resolve this problem.

If India does not buy electricity, Nepal will have to waste a large amount of electricity during the rainy season.

Last year, up to 600 megawatts of electricity were wasted every day. As India did not buy electricity for all the proposed projects, the authority lost a large amount of financial benefits. The authority was seeking permission to export more electricity to India to prevent such a situation this year. However, India is still reluctant about it.

Although the preliminary agreement on long-term electricity trade was signed during Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal's visit to India, no work has been done according to the agreement. IPPAN President Karki said that diplomatic initiative is necessary to take the preliminary agreement signed by the energy secretaries of the two countries to the implementation level.

Madhu Prasad Bhetuwal, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation, said that Nepal has completed preparations to fully advance the initial agreement. As the Indian decision was delayed, the preliminary agreement did not proceed.

Rajesh Aggarwal, President of the Confederation of Nepali Industry, said that India will purchase 10,000 megawatts of electricity in 10 years. According to him, it is necessary to keep gain the trust of India for electricity export. He also emphasized the need to open the PPA of hydropower projects and develop infrastructure in the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.